2018 Cayuse "Bionic Frog" Walla Walla Valley Syrah
100JD
99VN
98JS
98RP
95WS
94ST
$299.99
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100
Jeb Dunnuck
Reviewed May 2021The 2018 Syrah Bionic Frog comes from the Coccinelle Vineyard in the Rocks district of Milton-Freewater. It’s always one of the richest, most concentrated Syrahs in the lineup, yet it doesn't give an inch with regard to elegance and purity. The 2018 was aged mostly in demi-muids (there's often a portion aged in foudre) and hit 14.4% natural alcohol. This deeper ruby/purple-hued beauty offers a gorgeous bouquet of black raspberries, redcurrants, tapenade, bacon fat, and wood smoke, with a touch of reductive scorched earth and graphite nuances. This carries to a full-bodied Syrah with ultra-fine yet building tannins, a layered, deep, textured mouthfeel, and flawless overall balance. It's another magical, incredibly pure Syrah from the genius of Baron that will benefit from just 2-3 years of bottle age and keep for over two decades.
Professional Reviews
99
Vinous
The dense, brooding 2018 Syrah Bionic Frog is a spectacular bottling that shows off the heat of the vintage. It was aged in roughly 20% new large-format French oak before bottling. The smooth mouthfeel here is just sensational. Black tea, blackberry cordial and coffee ground flavors play with black olives and smoked beef rib flavors on the palate, and the salty and savory tones are right in balance. Seamless and literally a joy to savor in its youth, this has another 10-15 years of cellaring ahead of it. (OB)
98
James Suckling
Beautiful aromas of raspberries, spiced plums, dried violets, tobacco, smoked meat, herbs and balsamic. It’s full-bodied and so supple with melting tannins. Wonderful texture with a round, rich and savory finish.
98
Wine Advocate
Beginning with a brilliant and seductively aromatic nose, the 2018 Syrah Bionic Frog rockets out of the glass with a stunning array of juicy fruit tones, baked earth and a dusty, floral sensation with intoxicating elements of smoked beef and black pepper. Medium to full-bodied, the Syrah summersaults across the palate with excitement and finesse, offering up spicy flavors of black raspberry compote, spiced chutney, hints of olive tapenade and a lively mineral tension. It offers pristine tannins and a succulent mouthfeel that lavishly lays on the mid-palate. Concluding with a long, winding and ever-evolving finish, the 2018 is flirting with triple digits. The wine rested for 19 months in a mix of French demi-muids and foudre, 20% new. Outstanding! Only 6,396 bottles were made. (AM)
Notes
Christophe Baron is turning out New World Syrah with the concentration and structure to age like its New World cousins, so it's no surprise that his Bionic Frog Syrah are near-100 pointers. If you can get your hands on a bottle or two, consider yourself lucky.
Details
| Origin | Washington, United States |
|---|---|
| Type/Varietal | Shiraz/Syrah |
| Alcohol Content | 14.4% |
| SKU | 1513343 |